Ah the fifties. Elvis, Fats, Chuck Berry, Biff Tannen macking on Lorraine McFly nee Baines at the inaugural Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. It was a time when cars were pure mechanical beasts without all this fancy technology now seen in their contemporary counterparts. Nevertheless, it was a decade that paved the way for innovations such as air conditioning, seat belts and the V-8 engine, without which we would most likely be struggling. In episode one of this series, we’re hitting 88 miles per hour and going back to 1954 with the Oldsmobile F-88 Roadster.
Origins
Hard times were upon Corvette in the 50s. Sales plummeted, there was no sense of inventiveness, and let’s face it the competition was fierce. I mean, we had the classic 1954 Cadillac Eldorado for crying out loud!
But that didn’t stop four guys with a vision from scheming their way into the history books. Indeed, messrs Harley, Bill, Ken and Zora put their heads together and gave it some serious thought.
They took the Chevrolet Corvette’s 102-inch wheelbase and a fiberglass chassis and then decked it out with a 5.3L super 88 V8 rocket engine and a four-barrel carburetor. We’ll tell you this, 250 ponies at the time was effking unbelievable, and the Oldsmobile had that and then some.
Now at this time, four very unique Oldsmobile prototype/concept models were built, with just one surviving the harsh automotive landscape to be sold at an auction in 2005 for $3.24 million, becoming the highest ever selling car at the Barrett-Jackson auction.
Nobody’s in a rush to forget that molten chrome ochre finish and dazzling interior. It’s a real throwback to a time when you were what you drove (Popeye forearms from cranking non-power steering anyone?). You wouldn’t dare mention the word electrical in the same breath as these fuel-driven monsters.
This concludes episode 1 of our brand new one of a kind series. Watch this space for next week’s epic reveal!
